Commencement speech

There is a sign in my office that many of you have seen. It was given to be by a very good friend and it says “Adulting is Hard”. (I have to take a moment to say that I love the fact that the word adult has become a verb - something you do!) And it is true - being an adult is very challenging. However, that phrase on that sign in my office is incomplete. The sign was cut short. It should read, “Adulting is Hard. But it Can Be Amazing”

Notice that while that phrase says Adulting IS hard, and I would bet that there isn’t anyone here that would argue differently, it also says that it CAN BE amazing… not that it automatically IS amazing. The amazing part is up to you. It is up to how you choose to live your life and how you choose to view the world. Whether or not adulting is amazing, depends on the choices you make.

Take these few examples from my personal experience as an adult:

Some of you plan to further your education at University or Trade School. Well it will be hard. There will be difficult subject matter, challenging teachers, greater distractions and not as many familiar faces surrounding you and constantly cheering you on. It will be very hard.

But when you choose to make connections with professors that spark your intellect or choose the courses that inspires you to read more and study harder, or when you can tell your future employer that you have what it takes (the training, the degree) for the job - you will feel so elated and accomplished… and it will be amazing.

And then there is that job - whether you go straight to work after high school or later. Work is hard. (that’s why it’s called work) You can’t “ditch” work and your mom can’t call and excuse you. You can’t just not do your work because you don’t like the co-worker or the client or even the boss! And often when you first start a job you have to pay your dues, which means fetching coffee or digging holes or running menial errands - tasks that are uninspiring and disheartening.

But when you choose to persevere and get that promotion or raise because you have worked hard and exceeded expectations, or when you truly realize that what you do for a living is not as important as the fact that you are helping others in some way - you will feel such pride and satisfaction… and it will be amazing.

Here’s one of the greatest parts of being an adult - I hope that one day every one of you will fall in love. Despite what the movies show, it will actually be one of the hardest things you have ever done. You will go crazy and you will question everything you have ever known and if you’re like me, you might even throw caution to the wind and quit your corporate job in the big city and move to some unheard of small town in western Colorado! You will become a family and you will compromise and you will struggle. You will have to balance your own happiness with that of someone else’s - and some days it will be nearly impossible.

But when choose happiness and gratitude and you find that balance, it will be amazing.

And those are just a few examples - there are millions of ways that “Adulting Is Hard”. Paying bills. Raising kids. Buying insurance. Losing loved ones. Coaching Little League. Voting. Taking care of yourself.

But it can all be amazing - you just have to be willing to choose wisely and see those amazing  moments. They are not as pronounced as the challenges. The joys of adulting are discrete and fleeting and even hidden sometimes behind all the noise of the world. Adulting is Hard, but as adults, you will be able to choose how you see the world - and my hope for you is that you choose happiness. And that you choose hard work. And that you choose gratitude. And It will be amazing.